Victoria Tokareva spoke about her affair with Danelia and life wisdom

Where and when was she born

The biography of Victoria Tokareva began at a difficult time for the country. The girl was born in 1937 in Leningrad. The family went through very difficult years of occupation. The writer still remembers those hungry years, and her family treats food with care.

From childhood, the girl was taught to appreciate even crumbs of bread. She clearly remembers how her mother gave the last pieces to her children, and she herself remained hungry for several days.

Personal life

Based on the biography of Victoria Tokareva, it’s time to make a separate film, there is so much extraordinary, sometimes contradictory, in it.

There is little information about the writer’s husband, since he himself does not like publicity. It’s hard to find a couple of common photos on the Internet. Viktor Tokarev is an engineer by profession. The couple got married quickly, but the marriage turned out to be strong.

Victoria did not hide the fact that she started affairs on the side, but she never wanted to leave her family for someone else. And Victor had the patience to survive all her hobbies, even her relationship with Georgiy Danelia. The screenwriter dedicated the book “Tree on the Roof” to this relationship, which lasted 15 years, and the director dedicated the film “Autumn Marathon.”

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Victoria Tokareva and her husband
In 1965, the Tokarevs had a daughter, Natalya. Outwardly, the girl looked like her father, and when she grew up, she chose her mother’s profession. She graduated from VGIK and the College of Psychoanalysis, and works at a private film studio. “Kamenskaya” was filmed based on her script.

Natalia's first husband was director and producer Valery Todorovsky. The marriage produced a son, Peter, and a daughter, Ekaterina. After the divorce, which happened 20 years later, the father did not stop communicating with the children and supported them in every possible way. They have a half-sister, Zoya. The girl was given to Todorovsky by his second wife, actress Evgenia Brik (Khirivskaya).

Peter pleased his famous grandmother with his great-grandson Sergei in 2007, and his great-granddaughter Anna in 2008. He is a journalist by training and continues the director's dynasty.

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Katya graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Moscow State University, and at one time dated the son of Alexei Uchitel, Ilya. The young man is also a director and screenwriter.

Another grandson of Tokareva’s name is Pavel Porgunovsky.

Victoria lives in a dacha near Moscow. Plots in the cooperative have been allocated since the time of Stalin, and among the recipients are the cream of the Russian intelligentsia: Eldar Ryazanov, Alexander Tvardovsky, Lyudmila Zykina, Yuri Trifonov.

A prose writer, if she is not busy with creativity, reads the works of her colleagues. Tokareva likes Zakhar Prilepin, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Tatyana Tolstaya. She is friends with Lyudmila Ulitskaya and is always happy to chat with Daria Dontsova, in whom she is attracted by her sense of humor. But ironic detective stories are not her type.

The writer's parents

Our heroine was born into an international family. The father was a Jew, his name was Samuel Zilberstein. Mom was Ukrainian, her name was Natalya. She lived in the Donetsk region. Samuel was sent there for internship. There the couple met. The biography of Victoria Tokareva is connected with the war years. Her father was a native Leningrader and worked as an engineer. The Silbertstein family lived modestly but happily. The couple had two daughters.

The world was disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. My father was drafted into the army. After the war he returned home, but lived only a few months. My father was admitted to the hospital with severe abdominal pain and was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Soon in 1945, Samuel Zilberstein died.

The girls' mother loved her husband very much. She never married again. She spent all her energy raising her daughters. For a long time, her husband’s older brother, Evgeniy, helped her.

Victoria Tokareva: biography

Prose writer, playwright and screenwriter Victoria Samoilovna Tokareva was born on November 20, 1937 in Leningrad. Many classify Tokareva’s works as women’s prose, but her books do not have a gender connotation.

The parents of the future writer got married before the war. Victoria's father, Samuil Zilberstein, was a native Leningrader, an engineer. He was drafted into the militia. Afterwards he became very ill and was hospitalized with a diagnosis of esophageal cancer. He died at the age of 36 in early 1945.

Victoria Tokareva | Heliograph

The mother raised her two daughters alone, because after the death of her husband she did not remarry. For a long time, my father’s elder brother Evgeniy was his assistant. Working as an embroiderer in a factory, the mother often had to take work home and also load herself with part-time jobs.

In many of her works, Tokareva represented the image of her mother. Tokareva will write about boundless, sometimes illogical, excessive maternal love in the story “Terror with Love,” where the main character will be based on her mother.

After school, Victoria wanted to devote herself to medicine, but after her application was rejected, she had to study piano for 4 years at a music school. After graduating from college, Tokareva continued her studies at the N.A. Conservatory. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Victoria Tokareva in her youth | LoveRead

When Victoria got married, she went to Moscow, where she taught at a music school. She did not like the work of a teacher, as can be read about in Tokareva’s early stories. Later, the writer got a job as an editor at the Mosfilm film studio.

Once a creative evening at school brought Victoria Samoilovna together with the famous Soviet children's poet Sergei Mikhalkov. Sergei Mikhalkov remained in the memory of the future writer as a kind and selfless person, because it was his patronage that helped Tokareva become a student at VGIK and actually predetermined her fate.

Mother's image

One of the books displayed the biography of Victoria Tokareva. The writer shows boundless love for the heroine’s children. She took this image from life, it matched her mother.

Tokareva shows in the book “Terror of Love” that sometimes excessive custody of a child only brings harm. Parents should take time for themselves and not get caught up in raising their children.

The writer’s mother worked at a garment factory as an embroiderer. She often took on extra orders at home to feed her family. The mother controlled every step of her daughters, so the sisters looked for every opportunity to escape from the house.

Moving to Moscow

Personal life in the biography of Victoria Tokareva is somewhat stormy. She lives in an official marriage with one man, but cheats on him.

The heroine of our story met her chosen one in Leningrad. Their marriage took place quite soon. They did not have a prolonged period of meetings. After the wedding, the couple moved to Moscow. Victor always protected her and supported her in her career.

Tokareva's husband was an engineer. The newlyweds moved on his initiative. In the capital, the writer got a job at a music school. This profession did not bring her pleasure, as was stated in the short biography of Victoria Tokareva in the press.

On one of the creative evenings, she met the children's author Sergei Mikhalkov. This meeting became fateful in the biography of the writer Victoria Tokareva. The famous author was able to facilitate the girl’s admission to VGIK in the screenwriting department.

Childhood and youth

The novelist and playwright was born in November 1937. Victoria's mother was left alone with two daughters in her youth. Father Samuel Zilberstein was drafted into the militia at the beginning of the war. Afterwards he was very ill and died of cancer in 1945. His older brother Evgeniy helped the family.

She dedicated the collection “Mulya, who did you bring!” to Tokarev’s parents. And the heroine of “Terror with Love” largely adopted the traits of her mother.

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Victoria Tokareva in her youth
Vika’s dreams of a medical school were not destined to come true. She graduated from a music school with a degree in piano and a conservatory. After getting married, she went to Moscow, where she taught at a music school, and then got a job as an editor at the Mosfilm film studio. The patronage of the author of the Soviet and Russian anthems, the poet Sergei Mikhalkov, helped Tokareva become a student at the screenwriting department of VGIK.

Career

In 1964, the writer’s first story, “A Day Without Lies,” was published. This was followed by 5 years of studying to become a screenwriter. After receiving the diploma, the first collection “About What Didn’t Happen” was published.

In 1971, Victoria became a member of the USSR Writers' Union. Such rapid career growth gave the girl strength, and she began publishing her works more actively. By 1990, Victoria entered the top ten most famous writers in the country.

Tokareva was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1987, and in 1997 she became a laureate of the Moscow-Penne Prize. At the Cannes Film Festival, the screenwriter received an award for her contribution to cinema. This event happened in 2000.

Master and Victoria: the love story of Danelia and Tokareva

Timur Selivanov, Sputnik

The relationship between director Georgiy Danelia and writer Victoria Tokareva is similar to a sad comedy, of which there are so many in the filmography of the Georgian master. Together they wrote scripts for the films “Literature Lesson”, “Gentlemen of Fortune”, “Completely Lost” and “Mimino”. Tokareva frankly spoke to a Sputnik correspondent about the alcohol that put an end to their relationship, and what the director promised to tell her after his death.

Laughter inspires

The first meeting of Tokareva and Danelia took place at the Actor’s House. A young writer and a young director found themselves at the same table:

“Daneliya was drunk to the point of glazing. Under the table, he pressed his leg against my leg, and I looked at him in surprise: they didn’t say one word to each other, and he was already moving his legs! Soon Danelia went home by taxi. That’s how we met the master.”

Tsiskaridze about Danelia: he has a surprisingly intelligent sense of humor

The second time Victoria and George met was at work. Mosfilm decided to make a movie based on Tokareva’s story “A Day Without Lies.” Danelia was in downtime, and he was invited to this project as artistic director. He agreed to work on the script and invited the author to his home.

“The door was opened for me by his mother, Mary Ivlianovna, a magical Georgian beauty. She adored her son to the point of madness. And in the future I perceived Danelia as the object of love of this wonderful woman,” recalls Tokareva.

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She immediately noticed the director's incredible talent. He didn’t just write scripts, but “spoke and showed” - he played some episodes in front of his co-author:

“I looked at him with wide eyes. At particularly successful episodes, I laughed throughout the entire apartment, like a hen that laid an egg, and it was inspired by my laughter.”

Positive girl

Danelia and Tokareva wrote the script for “Gentlemen of Fortune” already in anticipation of love. Victoria Samoilovna admits: it was the best time in her life, and maybe in Daneliya’s life:

“Our happiness was invested in the script, which is why the film has not aged well. I remember telling him, “Your contribution to The Gentlemen is much greater than mine,” but he said, “That’s not the point. When you were in my space, I became a genius."

Danelia's birthday: bright facts about the films of the legendary director

According to Tokareva, Danelia’s life was darkened by alcohol. His screenwriters and co-authors - Shpalikov, Yezhov - drank heavily and provoked Gia to drink too. Compared to the drinking scriptwriters, Victoria - a positive married girl with a child - looked safe, so his mother Danelia advised him to work with her more often.

“He couldn’t work without me—literally. Gia wrote with many grammatical errors. One day I failed to come to work, and he typed himself. When I later took this piece of paper, my head was spinning: there were no margins, neither on the right nor on the left, and there were so many mistakes that I couldn’t make out the words,” the screenwriter laughs.

Start over

It was the director’s addiction to alcohol that separated him from Tokareva; she wanted to free herself from their relationship. The collaboration ended with the film “Autumn Marathon.” And yet Tokareva indirectly participated in the film:

“It was a script and a personal story of Alexander Volodin, but Danelia took on it because it was his story too. I am a prototype of the protagonist's mistress, inaccurate in detail. The heroine of the film is a typist, and I am a writer, she is not married, and I have a husband and an adored child.”

Vakhtang Kikabidze, Georgy Danelia and Frunzik Mkrtchyan

Tokareva admits: she got into a relationship like “neither with you, nor without you” - and came out of it, which she does not regret. And she was able to convert suffering and joy into the currency of her works. However, the co-authors still keep in touch:

“Gia calls me three times a week. He is seriously ill, but his mind, his humor are still as bright and deep. I recently told him: “We’ll probably meet you in the next world,” and he replied: “I’ll come up to you and say: “Let’s start over.”

What does he write about?

Victoria Tokareva mainly focuses on female psychology in her works. Abroad, this writer is considered a feminist, which arouses even more interest in her books.

The image of a city woman appears in almost all works. Tokareva’s books trace the struggle for the happiness of ladies and their realities. The girls in the works love to dream of a better life and often take rash actions for the sake of it.

Many heroines have the weakness of not being faithful to their husbands. Most likely, these images were copied from the biography and personal life of Victoria Tokareva. Her husband is not the only man who was among her chosen ones.

The writer’s works have been translated into different languages:

Chinese.
Danish.
French.
German.

Residents of these countries enjoy re-reading books by the famous Russian screenwriter.

Biography of Victoria Tokareva: personal life, nationality

The writer had Jewish roots on her father's side. Because of this, her family experienced various difficulties, especially during the war years. During the evacuation from Leningrad they were sent to Sverdlovsk. It was not easy for the family there, because living with a Jewish surname became dangerous. Few people wanted to help the family; most of those around them were afraid of the consequences for themselves.

Then Victoria more than once had to experience difficulties in life because of her nationality. Her application was rejected upon admission to medical school. And perhaps one of the reasons was Jewish roots.

The writer’s personal life was not easy. She married Viktor Tokarev in Leningrad. He always kept a low profile. There is very little information about him.

From a few facts it can be understood that Victor loves his wife very much, because he has repeatedly forgiven her for cases of infidelity. People around him claim that Victoria’s husband has a very calm character and is distinguished by extraordinary kindness. The couple had one daughter, Natalya, in their marriage.

Biography of Victoria Tokareva: personal life of her daughter

Our heroine gave birth at the age of 27, although she got married early. She is very proud of her only daughter. Natalya followed in her mother's footsteps and graduated from VGIK (screenwriting department).

Victoria's daughter does not like publicity; information about her appears in the press extremely rarely. Natalia’s most famous work is the script she wrote for the TV series “Kamenskaya”. This film brought her success.

Tokareva’s daughter began dating her future husband at the age of 16, but a serious relationship with Valery Todarovsky began only during her student days. After getting married, Natalya gave birth to a son, Peter, and 10 years later, a daughter, Ekaterina.

The marriage lasted 20 years. The famous producer and screenwriter has always distinguished himself in his circle as an exemplary family man. It was news to everyone that he was going to live with a young actress. According to Victoria Tokareva, it was her daughter who filed for divorce after such a confession from her husband.

Now Natalya lives in a civil marriage with a worthy man. They devote themselves to work and raising their grandchildren. The eldest son of Natalya Todarovskaya (Tokareva) had two children - Sergei and Anna.

Movies

Victoria has written scripts for the TV series “More Important than Love” and “First Attempt”, the comedy “Talisman”, and the melodrama “Avalanche”. Now, after decades, the films “Gentlemen of Fortune” and “A Dog Walked Along the Piano,” which Tokarev saw directed by Georgiy Danelia, enjoy the constant love of viewers. The film was directed by Vladimir Grammatikov. But Danelia grabbed onto the Mimino script. The film was awarded the USSR State Prize.

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The writer worked on the storyline of the drama “Instead of Me” together with her son-in-law Valery Todorovsky, and “A Simple Story” with Yulia Damsker, whose credits include the series “Children of the Arbat” and “Airport”. Federico Fellini also considered a joint project with Victoria, but death intervened in the implementation of his plans. The legendary Italian left letters to Tokareva, which she allowed to be published only when she was gone.

Books

The works of this writer are available in the home libraries of many residents of the post-Soviet space. Her books are quick and easy to read. One of the first collections was “Terror with Love.” It contains works that describe the difficult fate of post-war widows and their daughters trying not to make the mistakes of their mothers. The writer dedicated this book to her long-suffering mother, who could not forget her father.

“Short beeps” is a description of various destinies broken by life. People try, despite betrayal and betrayal, to forgive each other and find happiness. Understanding the value of love and devotion to them goes through a series of difficulties that they must overcome.

Most often, in the plots of all the writer’s works, the city life of the heroes can be traced. Therefore, almost all of Tokareva’s books belong to a special type of prose. Readers are accustomed to calling them “urban”.

This passion for large cities is quite easy to explain. The entire biography and personal life of Victoria Tokareva, whose photos are given in our article, is connected with two large metropolises - St. Petersburg and Moscow. The woman loves both cities and cannot imagine her life outside them.